Fugitive
by brightspark
Summary: Seifer and Squall meet when they can, while Seifer is on the run, but Seifer stops turning up to the meetings... SeiferxSquall. Final chapter, containing smut, on LJ.
1. Chapter 1

He was waiting for me at the street corner, standing just out of the light of the street lamp but still recognisable to me. I could have recognised him anywhere, of course, but with him standing there I couldn't help but think he was too exposed. I wasn't late. He was early. Too eager for our meeting, the idiot.

He looked up when I got close. He hadn't even changed his style of clothes, his stance and habits all the same. He was smoking, and I sighed softly at that; I don't know how many times he's taken up smoking, quit again, smoked again, quit again... he seems to be able to quit on demand, but still, I don't like the smell of smoke on him.

He seemed to read my mind as I got close and he dropped the thing, crushing it under his foot. For a moment, we didn't say anything. I was lit up by the street lamp, the light almost in my eyes, he stood in shadow. He'd got a new trench coat – same design, but less tattered than the other had become. He was smiling at the sight of me, not a smirk but a smile, just a curl of the corner of his mouth that he'd learnt in response to my hatred of his smirk.

"Squall," he said at last, very softly, and I shivered slightly. I couldn't help it. The way he said it... undescribable. He said my name as if I was some kind of _god_, as if my name was precious. It wouldn't save him, though.

"Seifer," I said, trying to sound cool and distant. "You need to change your habits if you don't want to be caught."

"If you were the one meant to be catching me, babe, maybe," he smiled again, "but no one knows me like you do."

"Whatever."

"Where are we staying?"

"There's a hotel over in that direction."

"Right," he said with a nod, and followed my lead. We were silent, then. I was glad for the sleepy indifference of the woman who gave me the key to the room I'd reserved, and Seifer remained silent as a ghost as I lead him up the stairs.

He moved the minute we were in the hotel room, pushing his body against mine and shoving me against the wall. He leant down and kissed me and I kissed back, running a hand through his hair, pressing close to him until he had my back against a wall, his body solid against mine, holding me there, a cage I didn't want to escape.

It felt so damn good to be in his arms again.

"I'm sorry," I found myself whispering, when he had pulled back a little and was just looking down at me in the half-dark of the room. He cupped my cheek and kissed me again, softly, eagerly, and shook his head. He never thought I should apologise. But he was being hunted because I couldn't convince people of his innocence. He was a fugitive because everyone listened to me but not to what was really important.

"Just... shut up," he muttered harshly, finally, and he pressed his mouth against mine, eager and hot, to shut me up.

----

"You think that... some day... I'll be able to lie in bed with you and not think that I have to go before dawn?" he whispered against my ear, dropping kisses on my neck. I didn't want to answer. Didn't have an answer for him. He wrapped an arm around my waist and moved me closer, bodies pressing together. I wished we could stay here. Stay here and lay here and never move.

But it was for his own safety that we stayed separate. He travelled the world, always one or two steps ahead of whoever was looking for him, and I gave my SeeDs false information, arranged our meetings, sometimes with completely unknowing SeeD guards who would let no one interfere in my business. When we were apart, I tried to prove his innocence. I had very little chance and he was just half a step ahead of authorities now.

He had been controlled by the Sorceress. It had been obvious to me, I knew him, knew him inside out as a sparring partner and a lover. The way he spoke, the way he moved, the way he fought, the tatters of his clothes – it was all wrong. It wasn't Seifer. No one, of course, could _know_ that like I could, except Fujin and Raijin.

The memory of that sent a little shiver down my spine. I had been tortured by Seifer, and yet it hadn't been _Seifer_. I had fought him, tried to kill him, he had tried to kill me, and yet it hadn't been _us_.

I turned a little to press the full lengths of our bodies together, his chest against my back, my ass against his hips. He reached over me and took my hand, fingers tangling with mine. His other hand traced a scar on my back.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, voice thick, "I'm so sorry."

"Just shut up," I repeated his words back at him and pressed harder against him. Wisely, he didn't say a word more, just kissed the scar and closed his eyes.

When he got up, I lay still on the bed. I watched him get dressed, finally moving only to prop myself up on one elbow and run my fingers through my hair as he shrugged on his trench coat. "We can't meet again for a while, it's not safe for you."

"Squall - " he started to protest, coming over to me, and I sat up, reaching up to put my finger against his lips. He wrapped his arms around my waist, looking as if he had a million things to say, but he didn't try, just kissed my finger softly and waited for me to take it away.

"Deling City," I said, softly, "Deling City in a month's time."

"Where?"

"Get the bus from... anywhere, to Caraway's mansion," I said quietly, trying to remember the buses, the bus stops, the places where there weren't likely to be too many people. "We can work it out from there."

"Same time as usual?"

That didn't even need answering. I gave him the tiniest of nods.

"And if I can't make it there, that place in Esthar in three months?"

I nodded again. He moved my finger gently away from my mouth, leaned down a little, kissed me again. He didn't say goodbye. We never do. He just walked away, out of the room, and I heard the click of the door and then the heavy movement of his feet down the corridor, until there was just silence again. Thick walls. No sound from outside, really.

I gave it a minute. Then I got up and went to the window, parting the blinds a little to watch him walk across the road, avoiding the light of the street lamps, away from the town.

I turned away again and went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Seifer didn't meet me in Deling City. I waited for him there all night, hoping that he _would_ come, but late, that he'd come with his smile and his smirk, maybe when I was half asleep with waiting, and surprise me. But in the morning, I knew that I couldn't wait there any longer and I left. I knew that he would make sure that he made it to Esthar, he wanted to see me perhaps even more than I wanted to see him.

I didn't even think of the possibility that he wouldn't show up in Esthar, either.

But when he didn't, I knew something was wrong. _Badly_ wrong.

Either he had been captured – but I didn't think so, that would have been all over the news, right? Or he was barely ahead of the authorities, moving on so quickly he couldn't even stop for a night.

I didn't know what to do.

All the time we were apart, I thought of him constantly. In the day, I missed our duels, the way he'd draw me out and refuse to let me lose myself into just one thing. In the night I missed _him_, his warmth beside me, his touch, the gentle way he'd drag his fingers through my hair. The sex, too, sex that I knew could never be so good with another because Seifer and I knew each other so well, no one could ever know us better.

There was no one I could go to. Seifer and I had kept our relationship completely private, because people like Quistis tend to get overly concerned about things like that – little things like that fact that we would be SeeDs, that our missions would be dangerous, and that we would want to protect each other, be sad if the other died. And I didn't dare reveal it to anyone even then.

"Squall, are you alright?"

Laguna Loire. Always like that. Poking in my business, always asking if I was alright, if I felt okay – if I was getting enough sleep, was eating well, and whether I was doing too much work or not. He was my father. And he felt as if even after all the years I hadn't known I had a father still alive, he had to act like a father to me. Sometimes, it seemed almost more like motherly fussing.

"I'm fine, fine," I said, rubbing the scar across my nose and wincing slightly to myself at how quickly Seifer came to mind when I did that.

"Something wrong?"

I hesitated, moving to cradle the phone between my shoulder and my ear, freeing both hands to reach for something to get on with some work. "Not really."

"Don't lie to me," he said, half teasingly. "Tell your old man what's up."

I sighed at that. I almost felt like telling him, there and then. Spilling out my guts on the phone. "Well... if someone precious to you disappeared, and you couldn't get in contact with them, what would you do?"

"You know what I'd do," he said, quietly, and I remembered the way he'd gone to search for Ellone. I nodded slightly, even though he couldn't see it.

"But now? With all your responsibilities?"

"Of course," he said, completely serious now in a way I'd barely ever known him to be before, not a trace of a laughter or bungling. "If Ellone... or _you_ vanished, I'd, well, I'd tear the world apart looking for you."

"Even though you know we can take care of ourselves?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Even then." He shifted, and I heard a load of paper slip down off his desk, smacking against the floor, and I heard his curse, quickly muffled. "Sorry. Just dropped something. Squall... are you missing someone?"

"Yes," I whispered, and I didn't want to say it, but not saying it would be like denying Seifer's existence, our relationship. The relationship that now felt much like just a dream, a whisper, that had now ended, gone silent. I had a feeling that Laguna would understand. "I want to find him."

"Him?"

"Can I come and stay with you for a while?"

It wasn't the first time I'd made the request. The first time Seifer had contacted me after the war, it had been from Esthar. I'd been horrified that he was there, with so many people, and not moving around, seemingly with no idea how to act when on the run. Turned out, he _wanted _me to arrest him. Take him to justice. But I wouldn't, because I knew what he didn't, that people pushed for a death sentence. Without trial.

So I stayed in Esthar for a while, meeting up with Seifer every day, until we had worked out a plan for him. That should have kept him safe and yet allowed us to meet once in a while.

Seemingly, that plan had failed.

"Of course," Laguna sounded curious and enthusiastic.

"I'll tell you more about this then," I told him. I ended the call as quickly as I could, arranging to be in Esthar as soon as possible, and realised that now I needed to request a vacation from Cid.

Or maybe not.

If I was going to go looking for Seifer, it might be better if I disappeared too. If no one knew where I was while I looked for him, so no one could follow me to him. So I left Garden, taking Lionheart and all the little essentials with me – essentials for a SeeD. I left behind the uniform, all the marks of being Commander. I'd never really cared for the rank anyway. For all I knew I'd be stripped of it when I returned to Garden, for leaving – I didn't care.

-----

"Squall!"

Just like that, he grabbed me, wrapping me up in one of the tightest hugs I've ever known. He crushed me close to him and I wondered if that was really what a father was like. If it was, I was glad. My images of a father had never been as warm and cheerful as Laguna.

Probably because I'm not a cheerful person.

"You can explain all about why you're here later, but is there anything important you need to tell me?"

"If anyone calls from Garden, I'm not here."

He nodded at that and glanced at Kiros, who nodded to show that he had heard and would make sure that everybody. I liked Esthar. If Laguna said something, be it ever so surprising, Kiros made sure it happened anyway. They were obedient. And they loved their leader, goofy as he could be. I'd once thought of him as a moron. I hadn't realised that he was a moron people would follow, though.

Even I might follow Laguna, if it ever came to that.

For a long time, he wouldn't hear a word of why I was actually there. He showed me to a room, told me to shower and change, asked me if I wanted a nap and when I declined, fussed about and then we ate. And finally, when we were done eating, he led me into a room with comfortable chairs and a sofa, and he smiled at me, waving a hand around.

"Sit wherever you like."

I sat.

"Aww, my favourite chair," he mock-pouted at me, and I rolled my eyes. He sat down and got serious again. It unnerved me slightly, that he had such a serious mood, and that he could get into it so easily. "Now. Tell me about it all. From the beginning."

So I told him. I told him how Seifer and I started our relationship. I told him about the way fights led to kissing and without even knowing why, I told him that we'd had sex. When I was barely fifteen, and he'd been barely sixteen. How our fights had kept people from even suspecting our relationship. How we'd both kept it secret so long.

And I told him about the days after the war, in his own city, and for a moment he lightened the mood, tsking softly. "Seifer Almasy was in Esthar and none of my agents noticed? Shame on them."

But then he let me continue and I told him all of it. The meetings near hotels, him leaving before dawn. And the fact that he hadn't shown up the last two times we were supposed to be meeting. How worried I was. How I hadn't had a call or a note or anything to indicate Seifer was still free.

And Laguna moved towards me again, caught me up in a hug and let me rest my head against his shoulder. It didn't seem so strange that he was my father, for a moment. It seemed only natural to let him hug me, hold me, comfort me.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you," he said, when he pulled away, and I pulled away too, trying to cover up my weakness again.

"I need to find him myself."

"Nevertheless," he said, smiling, "Estharian intelligence could be a good start. You'll have to ask Kiros about that. And Esthar could be a good base to work from, since you shouldn't go back to Garden during your search."

I nodded slightly. "Thank you," I said, awkwardly, "for wanting to help me."

"Thank _you,_" he said, shaking his head, "for allowing me to help you. And now, I think it's your bedtime."

I laughed. It surprised him a little, I think. But the way he said it, it almost made the situation real. Me, and my _father_. Suddenly the word was just so much less alien. My father. So I tried the word.

"Good night, dad."

I walked out of the room, catching only the tiniest glimpse of his delighted expression. He knew not to follow me and I went to my own room, lay down between the cool sheets, and thought of Seifer.


	3. Chapter 3

I'd wanted to start a search for Seifer immediately, but of course, Laguna objected to that, reminding me that I needed a plan. "It's not like you," he said, a little scolding, and I wanted to point out that being desperately in love wasn't like me, either, and yet apparently I was. Kiros seemed to understand my frustration, though. He agreed with Laguna, but he did sympathise with me. It was him I worked with most in gathering what information we had.

"So when exactly did you last see him?" he asked, flicking through pages of Estharian intelligence. I tried to think about it, tried to pinpoint the date, and found it entirely too long ago.

"Four months ago," I told him, trying not to think about all that could happen in four months.

"Right. He was last sighted by an Estharian agent in... hmm. Deling City, four and a half months ago. Esthar... three months ago." He looked up at me, as if expecting me to make some comment, and my mind raced as I tried to fit everything together. Dollet four months ago. Deling City before that. Obviously, on the date we'd been supposed to meet in Deling City, he had some problem and couldn't make it. But if he was seen in Esthar at that time, it meant he was still okay, up to that point.

"Has he been seen again since then?"

Kiros looked through, and I tried not to fidget, concentrating on the sound of rustling pages.

"No... no, wait," he said, and I tried not to lean close and be too eager. Just sit, sit and wait, and hope, but don't jump on every hope. That was the best way. I'd always be disappointed if I kept chasing hopes like that. "Yes. He was seen in... Balamb?"

What the _hell_ was he doing in Balamb?

He was _surely_ in danger there. Nobody liked him in Balamb, thanks to the reputation he'd gained as a student and the way Raijin and Fujin had briefly taken over. Damn it, damn it, damn it. I took a deep breath, but it did nothing to calm me.

"When!"

Kiros gave me a look that told me to calm down. It was a look that could stop my father mid spazz. I wasn't exactly freaking out like that, but the look calmed me down anyway. "A month and a half ago."

Half a month before we were supposed to meet in Esthar. I guess he got eager and tried to get closer to me, perhaps to catch me there instead of waiting to see me in Esthar. Damn it, the idiot. We had a plan that would have kept him safe.

If he'd followed it.

"And he hasn't been seen more recently than that?"

"No. Not by any Estharian intelligence, although I'll persue a couple of agents that haven't reported in a while."

I tried not to show any disappointment. It seemed that the only lead I had was Balamb. And that would be awkward, giving that Balamb Garden was probably considering me a missing person since I'd gone AWOL. People in Balamb would know me.

"Squall. Laguna told me to do everything I can to help you. Two agents are already on their way to Balamb to do what they can," Kiros said, and he moved closer, putting his hand on my shoulder. "We'll help you find Seifer if we can."

Some of the time back then, I thought that I would prefer to find Seifer myself. All by myself. He'd try to find me that way, I thought. But no, he wouldn't, he'd accept the help of Raijin and Fujin, so I might as well forget that and swallow whatever it is, pride or arrogance, and let my dad and Kiros and anyone else who wants to help me.

"Thank you," I said, simply.

"Don't mention it," he said, flashing me a smile, teeth bright white against dark skin. He and my father were hopelessly lucky. Aging well.

Aging well _together_, or so I suspected.

Hate the idea of getting old, but when I do, I hope it'll be with Seifer. And that we don't have any more wars or sorceresses or anything of the kind to deal with.

"You know..." Kiros trails off, but at my inquiring look, nods slightly and continues, "I didn't think much about Almasy. I just thought that because he's... he was, I mean, Ultimecia's Knight, that he should be punished. But we all know that sorceresses can do things to people... look at Esthar. They followed Adel with barely a complaint for a long time. Should they all be punished? Obviously not." He hesitated, looking down at his hands, "I'm helping Laguna put together a case for pardoning Seifer. For what it's worth, we're both sorry we didn't supp – "

"That's enough," I said, quickly, a little embarrassed at the sudden interest being taken in Seifer and I. "It's okay. I knew he was manipulated because... well, you know why."

"Because you're his lover," Kiros said, a little amused now and less serious.

"Yes," I said, shrugging, "because I've been his lover for a long time, I knew that what he did wasn't like him. It started out like him, I guess, the parade... that was just like him. But not the prison. Torture isn't his style..."

Kiros gave me a pitying look. I didn't want him to apologise but at the same time, the memory of that time made something lock up inside me, as if insisting that I cried. I was all choked up and, annoyingly, Kiros could see it. He put a hand on my shoulder and nodded slowly. "Sorry. I understand."

"Can you leave me alone, please?" I asked, swallowing hard to get in control of myself again. It worked. Kiros looked a little worried, but he nodded, gathering up his records and leaving the room without another word.

I sat in silence and fought with my own feelings.

-----

"Squall?"

I looked up at Laguna. He put a hand on my shoulder, a worried expression on his face. I realised that now it was dark, I hadn't eaten all day, and that I must have been asleep for at least some of that. "Something wrong?"

"Yes, you haven't eaten," Laguna said, tsking softly, but I didn't want his fussing.

"I'll get something when I feel like it," I said shortly.

"Squall... okay." He sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously and giving me a careful look, chewing his lip, "It's just, I know it's hard, but you need to keep on liv –"

"Whatever. I know."

I've never been good at nodding and smiling when someone is acting like they know better than me, like they can lecture me. So that's perhaps why I reacted so badly. That doesn't excuse me being rude but... I don't think I was that bad, all things considered.

Maybe that's just me trying to justify myself. Whatever.

"Squall..." he started to say something else, but abandoned it before it even fully formed in his mind. "Okay. You know I'm always ready to talk, don't you? I actually brought some food for you, do you want it? And did Kiros tell you that there are two agents heading to Balamb? They'll find him if he's there. We'll find him, I'm sure. I'm good at finding people!"

He had such an innocent smile on his face at that. Like he _still_ didn't realise that he was the only one for whom life was simple like that. And just like that, I realised that maybe it would be better if I didn't lose myself in my thoughts.

"I'll have the food. And you can stay for a while and talk to me."

"I can do that!" he said, grinning, and did exactly that.

I'd eaten quite a lot by the time we got around to the subject of my mother, finding myself hungrier than I expected. I blanked out most of what Laguna was saying, simply listening to the tone of his voice, the cheerful, optimistic undercurrents. I noticed when it turned more reflective and tuned in properly when I heard him say my mother's name.

"...and she was just like this with me, almost motherly, only, you know, not. I think that's where I learnt it. She'd have been a good moth – "

"Tell me about her," I demanded suddenly, surprising even myself.

The look that lit up Laguna's face made me smile. Even years after her death, Raine, my mother, was still loved. I couldn't help but think of Seifer when I listened to Laguna, but it didn't hurt. It was nice to think of him in that fond way, remembering his faults as well as his strengths rather than, perhaps, how perfect he had been at times – that was a good thing for me, at a time when it would've hurt any other way.

I hoped he was thinking of me.


	4. Chapter 4

"Squall," Kiros whispered, shaking my shoulder. I was awake straight away, reaching straight for Lionheart. Kiros, being a smart guy, had already removed it and he handed it to me as soon as I realised it was him there. "We've had news about Seifer."

I was fully awake and half dressed before he'd even finished the sentence. Normally, it takes me a while to wriggle into my leather pants, to get the belts done up. I was already in my pants and starting on my second belt when he went to the door to wait for me. I cast quick glances at him as I got ready, running a hand over my face and deciding I wouldn't need a shave yet. He was calm, and his face gave away nothing.

My heart was hammering, my stomach was twisting, and there was almost a sick feeling at the back of my throat.

Kiros was quiet. In fact, he barely said a word to me, and I had none to spare for him. I just followed him, all the way through the corridors to Laguna's office. I hoped my father was up and it wouldn't just be Kiros. I didn't know what I'd do if it was bad news and there was only Kiros. He was fine, but...

But I'd got used to relying on my father when emotion overtook me.

Laguna was there, sat behind his desk looking over something on his laptop. He looked up and smiled at me cheerily. "You okay, Squall? I'm sorry to wake you, but we thought that you'd probably want to see this."

"See what?" I asked, ignoring the stupidity of his need to voice that he'd made an assumption. The assumption had been quite correct.

"First, you must promise me that you won't do anything rash," Laguna cautioned, but he didn't wait for my answer before he turned the laptop round to let me see the screen. Maybe he realised that I was likely to _break_ a promise not to be rash if something really pissed me off. Probably not. I went to sit down and Kiros leaned over my shoulder, hitting a few buttons.

"Watch," he said, calmly.

I watched. I watched as they panned the camera over an unconscious Seifer. As one of them kicked him awake and he looked up at the camera, almost desperate. There was no audio.

I watched it all. Then I stood, bubbling over with rage. "They have no right!"

"Squall, calm down!" Kiros said, quickly, and put a hand on my shoulder to force me down. "Explain what you think is happening."

"It's obvious," I said, barely able to contain my anger, "they're luring all the authorities in. They have Seifer and they want reward money for him. For his capture. Damn it, why did he stop running...? I'd need help from Garden to trace this before anyone else, a team... _damn _it.."

"Estharian technology is the best," Kiros pointed out gently. He leaned over to pick up the laptop, batting Laguna's hands away as he tried to help gather up the cable. "I'll get a team on it right away. We'll beat everyone to it, except maybe Garden."

"Garden might not even care," I said, frowning slightly. We hadn't been particularly interested in capturing Seifer, partially thanks to my leadership, but mainly because no one was paying us to do it, so it wasn't in our best interests.

"I'll work on it," Kiros said, and went out, shutting the door to leave me and Laguna alone.

"You can't just charge on in there alone," he said, softly, looking up at me.

"I wasn't thinking of – " I started, but then I had to stop, my cheeks burning as I realised that that pretty much _was_ what I'd been planning. Looking at him there in that video clip, all I'd thought was '_I have to go to him'_.

"You know the Estharian army will help you, if you need help," Laguna said, softly, and I nodded.

But I had a better idea.

I had a perfect team, already assembled, if I could only play my cards right.

------

I took a deep breath, dialed the number. I needed to be quick, if the person I was hoping for didn't answer. I didn't want the call to be traced and I really didn't need to be identified by the wrong people. "I need to speak to the acting commander."

The familiar voice was a relief, even though it was curt. "Speaking."

"Quistis? Is this a private line?"

She sounded busy. I heard paper rustling in the background and a pen rolling off her desk. "Who is this?"

"Answer my question, _please_."

"Yes, it is." She sighed softly and I heard the scribble of a pen against paper. "It's a business line, so it has to be confidential, and calls can't be recorded for security reasons. Who is speaking? If you have a reasonable offer for Garden, I'm sure I can consider any request you have, no matter what it is or how secret you want it kept... if you pay well enough."

"Quistis. It's Squall."

It took her a moment. Finally, I heard her sharp intake of breath. "Squall! You've been missing – "

"I know," I said, softly. I'd prepared my next line carefully. I made sure to keep an edge of wariness in my voice, as if I was unsure about something or just on my guard. Really, I knew that if a Garden line was secure, it was _secure_, and there was nothing else to fear, safe within the Presidential Palace. "I'm on a mission, highly classified."

"...That explains why you've been gone," she said, slowly.

"I need your help," I said, quickly, to make sure she didn't try to think too much about it. "I've been hired by a... powerful client. I need to capture Seifer Almasy. I need you, Zell, Selphie and Irvine to come to meet me somewhere. Somewhere inconspicuous."

"Winhill," Quistis said, after a moment. She sounded reluctant, but I couldn't afford to dwell on it.

"In three days time," I said, simply, and put the phone down. I hoped the call wouldn't have been long enough to trace. I wanted to keep everything as vague as possible – no clues at all available for her. It was a top secret mission, to her, and I wanted to make it seem like that, preferably without having to think up any complex explanations.

I walked out of the office and Kiros looked up at me.

"Did it work?"

"I think so."


	5. Chapter 5

Quistis was waiting there in Winhill, wrapped in a big coat and looking cold. I'd been careful not to let her see me arrive in Esthar's airship and so all she knew was that I arrived. Could've been by car, on foot... anything. That was the way I wanted it, well, needed it, to keep up the illusion that I was on a mission. She smiled slightly at me when she saw me walking towards her.

"Squall," she said softly, and we hugged. More her than me, but I did hug her, pleased to see her. And not only, though mostly, because she was going to help me find Seifer. She looked me over carefully, pushing me back at arms length. "You look tired. How is your mission going?"

"Hasn't been going anywhere, found out where he is but I've been waiting for you guys to come and help," I said, with just the slightest sigh. No need to over act. She'd see through that immediately. "Where're the others?"

"Waiting close by," she said, smiling slightly. "I wouldn't let you down, you know that, Squall."

I nodded slightly. "Take me to them?"

"Of course."

She led me into a small house and there they were, Selphie and Zell and Irvine, Selphie perched on Irvine's lap, his cowboy hat on his head. She grinned at me and flung herself from Irvine's lap into my arms. "Squall! We've been worried about you! Next time you have a top secret mission, let us in on the secret, okay? Or we'll _worry_ about you!"

"Sorry," I said, returning the hug. I was glad that Irvine and Zell weren't the hugging type. I'd had quite enough hugs for one day.

"So, what can we do for you?" Irvine asked, lazy, stealing his hat back and putting it on his head, tipping it back a little to give me the full effect of his questioning look.

"I need you help in getting to Seifer Almasy," I said. I pulled the folded up map out of my pocket, throwing it towards them. "The circled square is his location. I need to get there, and I need you guys to help me get in, and out, with Seifer."

Selphie looked at it. "Does it involve explosives?" she asked, half hopeful, half joking.

"No. At least not until we're out of there," I said, and smiled.

"Yay!" she punched the air. "Shall we go?"

I was pleased. They trusted me. They were going to help. Of course, we couldn't go right then. There was still planning – and talking, catching up – to do, and we needed to be fully ready. But they would back me.

I felt a little guilty for lying to them, but I wasn't sure how they would react to the idea of freeing Seifer if someone had finally got their hands on him, and I was sure the truth would come out at the right moment and everything would be okay.

------

It was stupidly easy to get in there. I sent the others circling around the building, and Quistis found an unlocked entrance within minutes. Once we were all ready, in we went.

"What can we do now?" Selphie asked, looking around and frowning.

"We'll have to search the area for him. We need to go up a floor," I said, consulting a little map that Kiros had provided. "Here. All of you take a look at this. Memorise the position of the exits."

Quistis took it first, but she barely glanced at it before passing it to Selphie, Zell and Irvine. They crowded around it together, taking a little longer, and I waited as patiently as I could. I was maybe _minutes_ away from Seifer. In just a few minutes I could see him again, touch him again... in just a few minutes he'd be with me and I wouldn't have to worry any more.

I tried to be patient, I really did, but before long I took the map off them. "Let's go."

"Right."

We all split up as soon as we got up the stairs. I went in one direction and the others all dispersed as well. It was a tangle of corridors and I briefly wished I'd thought of bringing walkie talkies. That would teach me to start missions in such a hurry. I was worried for a while, as I checked through the rooms, that when one of us found Seifer the others wouldn't know, or wouldn't be able to get there.

There were so many things about that mission I could have thought through better.

"Here, guys!" Zell called, and I admit that I ran to him, following the sound of his voice and running to the door he was looking through. It was easy enough to find him, despite my fears. Selphie joined me, bobbing up on her tiptoes to see into the room. Irvine followed her, slowly, as if there was all the time in the world.

"Where's Quistis?" she asked as Irvine joined her, but she didn't bother thinking too much on the matter. Quistis could look after herself. All three of us knew that the mission had to be a simple 'in-and-out-again' operation to suceed. Quistis could take care of herself.

"I'll have the door open in a tick," Zell promised, and got to work on that while me and Selphie checked around for any guards. He didn't take long, the door was open in about two minutes, and he opened it with a flourish, like a magician presenting a trick.

Seifer was chained, ankles and wrists, just enough so that he was effectively hobbled and couldn't pick the lock. He raised his head and met my eyes, looking glad to see me, even if the words wouldn't ever come out of his mouth. He wasn't gagged, but he didn't say a word, waiting to see what I said, what was going on, whether they knew what was really going on or not.

"Squall...?" Selphie asked, suddenly sensing, perhaps, that something wasn't quite right. "Shall we take him? I mean, I don't see why we need to capture him... these guys seem to have done quite well."

"We'll take him," I said, but I hadn't taken even another step towards him when another voice made me turn.

"Don't take another step."


	6. Chapter 6

"Quistis?" Selphie looked shocked and I swung to face the owner of the voice as well. She was pale and trembling and behind her loomed another figure.

"Squall," she said, softly, meeting my eyes and then hanging her head slightly. "I got captured. I..."

I could tell. I almost got pissed off with her, but I knew we all made mistakes. Like me. Forgetting about walkie talkies was just one of the stupid things I'd done. I just waited calmly as the person behind her pushed her forward, his big hands on her shoulders. There was no one I knew as tall as him.

"Ward," I said softly.

He nodded slightly. He put something into Quistis' hands and pushed her towards us. She stumbled a little after his strong push and carried the rolled up bit of paper to me, passing it to me and straightening up, trying to appear strong. "Read it," she said, softly.

I unrolled it, glancing over the typed out lines. It was obvious that this had been planned. I looked up quickly, thinking about the implications of that. "Ward, did my father or – "

He shook his head.

I turned back to the piece of paper.

_I'm sorry about this, but I can't allow you to free Seifer Almasy. He is the Knight of a Sorceress, and even if that Sorceress is dead, he is still dangerous. Particularly because his Sorceress is actually not born yet._

_For the sake of Esthar, even if Laguna feels he has to indulge you, I have to do this. I know Laguna won't._

Quistis touched my shoulder lightly. "What's going on?"

"I fucked up. I should never have trusted anyone to help me," I said, my eyes on Ward. He looked apologetic. But he didn't look as if he regretted his decision a bit.

Selphie bounced a little, her nunchaku in her hands, swinging a little with her movement. "Squall, explain everything!"

I looked at Ward. Would he let me? He nodded slightly. I looked at Seifer and found him staring at me, not making any attempt to move, just staring at me as if he trusted me to do this. He nodded slightly as well, smiling a little. "Tell them, Squall. We can't get in any more shit than we already are."

I nodded back and turned back to look at Quistis. Irvine and Zell were quiet, watching me carefully. Everyone's eyes were on me and I hated it, but I had to tell the truth.

"Seifer was controlled by Ultimecia. I know none of you believe that... but it's true. I knew it all along. We were lovers before the war and we kept on meeting after it, secretly."

"I knew about that," Quistis said, softly. "I had you monitored."

"Guess even your carefulness wasn't careful enough, Squally-boy," Seifer said, sounding amused and I turned and glared at him.

"Seifer disappeared. I left Garden to try and find him. I went to Esthar for help – Kiros and Laguna helped me track him down. I assume that it wasn't you who captured Seifer, Ward?"

He shook his head.

"You're just trying to take advantage of the opportunity to capture him," I said, quietly, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed, right to the core. I had opened up, trusted people, trusted everyone in Esthar, and one person had made that all meaningless. "You worked alongside Kiros... you could get hold of all the information."

He nodded slightly and Irvine frowned.

"Who _did_ capture Seifer?"

"A group of opportunists out to sell him to the highest bidder," Zell said, and he sounded even a little indignant. "Right, Squall?"

I nodded. "Ward won't let me save Seifer because he believes Seifer is still a threat, or rather, will be again."

"I'll never serve that bitch again," Seifer almost snarls, softly, but enough to make Selphie flinch. Ward narrowed his eyes slightly, and I knew that he would never believe that. Or, well, Laguna might be able to convince him, but no other force on the planet would.

I lowered my voice. "Quistis, Irvine, Zell, Selphie... are you with me?"

I was disinclined to trust anyone else, but not to trust those four would be like shooting myself in the foot. Pointless, stupid, and clumsy.

There was a pause. And then all of them nodded. Ward raised an eyebrow but we all reacted instantaneously, immediately, as if we had rehearsed this a thousand times. Zell lunged for Ward, the only one with a hope of taking him down, and Irvine loaded Exeter, pointing it at Ward as Zell got him down on the floor. I was with Seifer immediately, working on getting his legs free. Selphie moved after Zell, swinging her nunchaku down in an attempt to stun Ward while Zell pinned him. And Quistis worked on freeing Seifer.

I'd just freed Seifer and I was just standing, moving towards him as he reached to take me into his arms, when everything stopped. I heard Irvine groan and I turned in Seifer's arms, enough to see Ward holding Exeter, pointed at my back.

"It's not nice to hit girls!" Selphie glared at him, rubbing her head and crawling over to Zell. Her nunchaku were on the other side of the room. Zell was unconscious.

"She's right. It's not," another voice said, calm and smooth and controlled, a voice I knew, and I relaxed into Seifer's arms, feeling them tighten, burying my face in his shoulder and taking a deep breath. I smelled smoke on Seifer's clothes and for once I didn't care. I had missed him, and now I had him, and things would come out okay.

"Ward... what are you doing?"

It was Laguna and Kiros and a whole squad of soldiers.

"We followed you. You... betrayed us," Kiros said, softly, and I heard the same disillusionment in his voice that I'd felt.

"My son _loves_ Seifer," Laguna said, quietly. "I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I trust in Squall's judgement."

Ward stared at Laguna, and then at Kiros, and then at me and Seifer, and Seifer held me close and tight, the embrace I'd been wanting for months. I was almost holding my breath.

Ward lowered the gun.


End file.
